Teaching techniques

CONCLUSION
This multistep technique engages students 
in authentic discussion at several levels and 
uses a variety of language skills and functions. 
Because of the technique’s simplicity, it 
could be used with almost any age and level 
of student, except very young learners and 
beginners. To start off, students have to be 
familiar enough with the topic to be able to 
develop their questions; that may require 
them to read about or do research on the 
topic and to discuss it with classmates. Or, 
students can develop questions about a topic 
the class has recently studied. 
Writing the questions will provide 
opportunity for discussion about how to 
properly phrase them. As students answer 
another group’s questions, they are discussing 
the topic again, perhaps from a different 
perspective than they did originally, because 
each group will approach the topic differently. 
Then, as students analyze, discuss, and write 
about the quality of the questions, they have 
to use appropriate language to explain the 
strengths and weaknesses of each question. 
Finally, the whole-class discussion about the 
most effective questions and suggestions 
for improving weaker questions promotes 
speaking about the topic using relevant 
vocabulary; it also engages students in the 
functions of comparing and contrasting the 
various questions, making suggestions, and 
perhaps agreeing and disagreeing. These are all 
skills and functions that students at the upper-
beginner level and beyond can manage and 
continue to develop.
Lynn W. Zimmerman, PhD, was a 2014–2015 
English Language Fellow in Elbasan, Albania, where she 
taught at Aleksander Xhuvani University. She served 
as a Peace Corps volunteer and a Fulbright Scholar in 
Poland.
Q/A Activity Worksheet
Group 1: Write three open-ended questions that could be used in a discussion group. Give the 
list of questions to Group 2. 
Group 2: Discuss the questions. Do not write your answers to the questions. 
Write a critique of each question. Did the question stimulate much discussion? Why? Why not? 
How could the question be improved to make it a better discussion question? 
Question 1
Question 1 Critique
Question 2
Question 2 Critique
Question 3
Question 3 Critique